June sales of new homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, well above the 360,000 rate economists were expecting. The June sales level is the highest seen since November, and the 11.0% increase from May to June is the largest since December 2000. The June increase was mostly due to a jump in home sales in the Midwest and West. Sales in the Midwest increased 43.1% to a 73,000 annual rate, the highest since May 2008, while sales in the West increased 22.6% to a 103,000 annual rate, the highest since last July. The Northeast also contributed with a 29.2% sales increase, although the Northeast is the smallest of the four markets. Sales in the South -- the largest market -- fell 5.3% to an annual rate of 177,000, the lowest level seen since January 1991. The June sales level is 21.3% lower than the pace set in June 2008, a slight improvement from the 32.0% decline in the year ending May. The median sales price fell to $206,200 in June, which is 12.0% lower than the median sales price a year earlier.